26 September 2014

This lovely succulent Crassula deltoidea is one of my newest succulent plants. I purchased it during a succulent plant exhibition in Prague about two months ago and I am glad it survived the big move without any problems.

Now it has a sunny spot on the terrace together with few other plants and they all seem to be doing well, having enough sunshine and still being shielded from the rain.

However, it seems like nothing good can last forever in the garden over here. And even though the terrace is elevated and gets significantly smaller number of mollusk visitors, there still are some.

Whether it was a snail or a slug, I do not know, but the bite-marks are of a very distinctive shape of a gastropod jaw. Well, it got nibbled, but not killed and for that I can be thankful :)

19 September 2014

Say hello to giant wormie. He truly is giant, much bigger than any toy I have ever made. He measures 64 cm in length, is soft and crocheted of 100% acrylic yarn. I made most of him during our travels from Woking to Prague and back (Yes, crocheting in the car is doable!) and he became a bit of a friend of mine. Now he is looking for new home and you can pick him from my Etsy shop and buy him for someone you love :)

This wormie is a very active creature. He likes stretching in the morning, because it prepares him for the busy day ahead.

Even though he has no legs, he is perfectly capable of running up and down the stairs.

Because he is so soft and flexible, he enjoys squeezing through the tiniest holes. Everything can be a climbing frame!

But don't be confused! Wormies like resting, too. This one loved sunbathing in the garden and exploring the lawn.

And when the time comes to go to bed, he will curl up comfortably and have a good night's sleep.

15 September 2014

The summer is ending and the winter is definitely in the air. Days are getting shorter and evenings are cold and mornings chilly. But there is still enough warm autumn sun during the day to bask in for a few moments. This afternoon seems to have been made for sitting out on a blanket. With squirrels running around (and steling some wheat that accidentally grew up in some flowerpots on the terrace) and birds singing all around, I worked on a couple of crochet projects that I have in progress at the moment.

Firstly, I am trying to make a scarf for myself. I bought a lovely big ball of Murano Lace yarn in Prague last week and using a big hook and Tunisian/Afghan crochet technique, the scarf is slowly gaining length.

My second project is a very colourful children's blanket. I bought several balls of rainbow-like variegated yarn in a local shops that sells absolutely everything from erasers to plug adaptors. At first, I was not very happy with how the pattern turned out, but everyone was telling me that it looks very nice. The breaking moment for me, however, was when I showed it to my five-months-old niece. She absolutely loved it! It must be the colours, she wouldn't let go of it!

A few months ago, I was shown a picture of a toy that looked quite similar to a bunny, but had a much much longer body. It was quite some time before my niece Amy was born. Now she is five months old and I have made my own version of the toy for her. She loves her bunny, especially its ears, which she pulls, puts in her mouth and dribbles all over them. Yuck! :) But she is cute.

07 September 2014

During the last few weeks, I have been too busy to write. We had some fun times and I was looking for a job and - to be honest - I also slept a lot and ate a lot and watched TV and was lazy a LOT. There were a few very rainy days and the rain-loving creatures had their good times. When I walked out to check on something in the garden, I found two slugs mating in a forgotten concrete block in the garden. It almost looked like they got themselves a room :D

What does it look like when slugs mate, you ask? Well, like this.

The species name is Protuguese slug or Arion lusitanicus. There are many of these in the garden and they are true pests, yet I did not feel like interrupting them, because it was so fascinating to watch. A few days later, I found another couple under a bush.

I have never seen slugs mating in real life, so it was pretty amazing to watch, even though they do not move much and it is more of a static experience. But still, observing it was wonderful (and not at all creepy). Gardening in the UK brings surprises almost every day :)